A 5-Step Search Strategy to Find Reliable Sources: 1.Brainstorm Search Terms - Brainstorm a list of search terms from your Research Question (Essential Question) & Thesis Statement. Include key words (nouns & adjectives) & synonyms. To find synonyms, try Visuwords (search box is at the top right) or Thesaurus.com.
2.Use Advanced Search- Use wherever possible to help you narrow your search results.
3. Find Books in the GHHS MC Online Catalog- Use Destiny to find books in the GHHS Library. Click to search by keyword, title, author, subject, or series. A keyword search will yield more results than a title or subject search. Write down the Call Number (ignore the prefix REF) to locate the book on the shelves. The shelves are labeled with numbers that are based on the **Dewey Decimal System**. The Power tab takes you to Advanced Search where you can search several keywords simultaneously & use the Boolean operators AND, OR, & NOT to narrow your results.
4. Find Articles in the GHMC Databases- Use the databases to find online books; articles from reference sources, magazines, academic journals, & newspapers; primary sources; audio & video clips; & more. Information in the databases has already been evaluated for reliability, & citations are provided. Use the Advanced Search function to search multiple terms together to narrow your search. Look for Related Topics to narrow or broaden your topic or search term. Also, check Full Text to find full-text articles. Ask in the Media Center for the password to the printable password page. For an alphabetical listing of all databases, click GHHS Databases.doc.
5. Search the Free Web - Use a search engine like Google to find websites, blogs, etc., but remember that you have to evaluate these for reliability. For many tips in searching Google, click below.
1. Brainstorm Search Terms - Brainstorm a list of search terms from your Research Question (Essential Question) & Thesis Statement. Include key words (nouns & adjectives) & synonyms. To find synonyms, try Visuwords (search box is at the top right) or Thesaurus.com.
2. Use Advanced Search - Use wherever possible to help you narrow your search results.
3. Find Books in the GHHS MC Online Catalog - Use Destiny to find books in the GHHS Library. Click to search by keyword, title, author, subject, or series. A keyword search will yield more results than a title or subject search. Write down the Call Number (ignore the prefix REF) to locate the book on the shelves. The shelves are labeled with numbers that are based on the **Dewey Decimal System**. The Power tab takes you to Advanced Search where you can search several keywords simultaneously & use the Boolean operators AND, OR, & NOT to narrow your results.
4. Find Articles in the GHMC Databases - Use the databases to find online books; articles from reference sources, magazines, academic journals, & newspapers; primary sources; audio & video clips; & more. Information in the databases has already been evaluated for reliability, & citations are provided. Use the Advanced Search function to search multiple terms together to narrow your search. Look for Related Topics to narrow or broaden your topic or search term. Also, check Full Text to find full-text articles. Ask in the Media Center for the password to the printable password page. For an alphabetical listing of all databases, click GHHS Databases.doc.
5. Search the Free Web - Use a search engine like Google to find websites, blogs, etc., but remember that you have to evaluate these for reliability. For many tips in searching Google, click below.
Google Search Education
Remember that free websites need Evaluation!